J. Holt Merchant to Give Stein Professorship Inaugural Lecture

By Julie ClineMarch 19, 2012

J. Holt Merchant, professor of history at Washington and Lee University, will give the Martin and Brooke Stein Professorship Inaugural Lecture on Thursday, March 22, at 8 p.m. in Northen Auditorium in Leyburn Library.

The title of Merchant’s talk, which is free and open to the public, is “Sue Keitt: Real Life Scarlett O’Hara?”

Merchant joined the W&L’s faculty in 1970 after serving in the U.S. Army from 1961-1967. In the last 42 years, he has taught more than 25 different courses. Among other things, Merchant has served as chair of the department from 1998-2007, marshal of the university and chair of the Committee on Public Functions from 1996-2005 and 2011.

Merchant is the author of Laurence M. Keitt: South Carolina Fire-eater, University of South Carolina Press (forthcoming 2012) and co-editor of Finishing With a Flourish (2008); has been a reviewer of books, newspapers and professional journals as well as referee of articles for professional journals; and has been a participant and advisor on films about Robert E. Lee and Stonewall Jackson. Merchant served as both editor and consultant on a number of books.

Merchant received his B.A. from Washington and Lee University and his Ph.D. from the University of Virginia.

The Martin and Brooke Stein Professorship was established in 2007 to support a distinguished professor who is an accomplished scholar and especially an exceptional teacher. The endowment is the gift of Martin E. Stein, Class of 1974, and his wife Brooke, in honor of faculty members the Steins consider model teachers and scholars. The Steins established the Martin and Brooke Stein Professorship in response to the Lenfest Challenge for Faculty Support.